The Aromatherapy Community

My vision of the Aromatherapy Community

The Community; How I view this complex and political field.

It has always been a shock to me that a lovely and healing art and science has turned so political and divisive.  So let's talk about it!

First, I want to say this is my opinion, based on observations over time.  Second, not all of this opinion has been formed in isolation.  I have discussed this with many others and they have all contributed to the development of my opinion.  That is the very root of how this community works.

Aromatherapy has largely been a field developed by sharing experiences.  Who you learn from will be your starting point on a multi-colored, interwoven web of learning lines.  Each book you read, blog post you read and company you explore will lead you to a new intersection in your learning.  If you take webinars or classes, you will go in other new and exciting directions.  The one thing to consider, you have to work hard to stay where you are.

It does not matter where you start your journey.  You may start in a group that says "you can use oils everyday, 100 times a day, in every way you can imagine."  I call this The Always group.  You could also start your journey in the "you should never use oils for...."  These I call the Never group.  They see Aromatherapy as black and white, when in reality it is various shades of gray.

There are exceptions for all guidelines regarding oils!  Never and Always rarely have a place in Aromatherapy unless it is accompanied by the word TRY.  I try to always buy on sale.  I try to never buy without doing my research.  

There are very few hard and fast rules in Aromatherapy.  Instead it is a field of balance, weighing the risks against the rewards for each individual, each oil and each application method will give you the best results.  In order to do that, you need to study!  Not just can it help with X condition but also can it be contraindicated for the person's medications, medical conditions, age or general health.  

Self-care through alternative and natural medicines does not negate risks.  We need to use common sense.  We need to balance the pros and the cons.  Most importantly, we need to work together.  This means, to me at least, that the put downs, judgments and assumptions do not have a place in this field.  

Support through our journey, online or in person is vital to traveling along the the ever changing pathways and detours to our new horizons.  You are here now.  Where will you be tomorrow?

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Always something NEW to learn; sugar-free muffins

A month of 

My first attempt!

changes;

learning to bake sugar free in our Motor Home.  

Last month was quite a challenge. We found out Hubby is diabetic and has heart disease.  Our planning and packing to move into our motor home was put on hold while we waited for test results and hoping he would be cleared for travel.  Being cleared was a dream come true but changes are still needed in our diets for both heart health and sugar control.  

I grew up baking every Saturday for my brothers and sister and I to have after school snacks for the week; cakes and cookies mostly.  My sister and I also did a great deal of cooking as both our parents worked; potatoes and pasta were always on the menu.  Over the years I stopped using recipes and started making my own.  Now, I have something new to learn.  Sugar-free baking and low carb cooking.  Oh and I need to learn all of this in a tiny kitchen with a very reluctant dishwasher named Hubby.  

Here is my first baking attempt; healthy fats, sugar-free, high fiber banana muffins with only a few dirty dishes!  After a month of no baked goods I did not really think they would flop but I did not expect such success.  

Since space and doing dishes are a huge obstacle to enjoying our day, I fought my frugal and eco-friendly nature and tried a low mess option for making our muffins.  My mixing bowl was a 1 gallon storage bag!  

I started by adding all of the dry ingredients and shaking them to distribute the leavening evenly.

I then set the bag in a bowl to support the bag while I added the liquid ingredients.  

Next comes the fun part!  You mush it all together inside the bag.  Squishing the bananas is a little like playing in the mud as a kid!  Keep squishing and mushing to mix the the batter.  There is the added bonus that you can see all of the batter and know when it is well mixed.  

Then I cut a corner off the bag and piped (like you would with a pastry bag) the batter into the parchment liners.  Over the years I have tried many liners and parchment is my favorite as there is less bleed through.  Using the taller liners, the muffins do not spread over the edges for less clean up.  I topped mine with unsweetened coconut chips before baking.  

  

I made a small batch as it was a first try.  I look forward to trying it with Sweet potatoes in place of the bananas.  I usually switch up my healthy grain addition.  I keep a wide variety of Bob's Red Mill grains on hand at all times.  This time it was flax but you could try a large variety of whole grain flours. I will likely use coconut oil for its healthy fats but any oil could replace it.  

Powdered peanut butter is my new best friend.  It is a great way to add protein to level out the effect of the carbohydrates.  I am suddenly using a lot of it!

Bob's Red Mill Whole Grains

Resources:

This is my first choice in powdered peanut butter as it is GMO free:  Just Great Stuff.

I Love Bob's Red Mill!  Today I used Flaxmeal and Whole Wheat flour.  

Oh, and a huge bonus picture.  This is all of the dirty dishes from making muffins for breakfast (okay, I wiped off the muffin pan with a damp rag too.)

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Tea with Dee; The French Press

Iced Herbal Refreshment

Tea with Dee; the French Press

My good friend Dee and I met for tea once a week over this past summer!  Oh what a blessing to sit down to a cup of hot tea with your friend!  Or to sip on some refreshing iced tea while talking about our families, our interests and our lives.  I plan to still have tea with Dee via webcam now that we are in our RV.  I hope to continue to offer various Tea reviews and ideas throughout this blog.  So welcome to the first installment of Tea with Dee!

Making a large batch of tea to share with a friend or to sip on all day can be fast and simple with a French press.  They come in various shapes, sizes, and even materials.  They are a great way to brew a large batch of loose leaf tea or an herbal blend.  They strain the tea, herbs or coffee through a wire screen at the bottom of a plunger, trapping it so you can pour your tea.

The wire screen

I often brew a concentrated blend for pouring over ice, which is what I have demonstrated in these photos.  All pictures are in my glass press for easier demonstrations.  I also have a insulated stainless press.  Use as much tea as suits your needs and tastes.  For woodier herbs, you may need to add half the hot water and let it steep until cool and then repeat with the second half of the water to extract the most from your herbs.

If you have never used a French Press, it may take a few tries to figure out how much herb or tea is needed to get the strength you desire.  The directions are very simple:  Add your herb or tea to the bottom of your press.  Pour in the boiling water.  Let steep until the herbs start to sink.  Plunge the screen to the bottom of the carafe slowly (trust me on the slowly, plunging quickly can force hot water out of the pour spout and burn you!)  Pour up a cup while still hot or serve over ice.  Sit down with a friend and gab or enjoy a few minutes to relax and savor.

Resources for French Press:
Stainless Steel Insulated Press
Glass Press

Add the boiling water

The herbs floating to start

Ready to plunge

Insulated stainless and glass options

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Herbal Honey

Lemon, Cinnamon and Ginger

Herb Infused Honey

We love essential oils because plants have fantastic properties that benefit our health and well being.  We can get some of the therapeutic properties of plants in ways other than essential oils.  

I use herbs in the easiest ways I can!  One of my favorite uses of herbs is to combine them with the amazing benefits of local raw honey.  

I try to always use local honey.  First, it is great to support our local beekeepers and without the bees, there is no local produce. Second, local honey acts like a homeopathic medicine for allergies; exposing your body to tiny doses of the offending pollen.  Homeopathy is a huge topic in and of itself. If you are unfamiliar with it, there are many resources readily available. 

You can infuse any herb.  Honey is a preservative so you can use fresh herbs. Dried herbs can also be used.  The woodier the herb, the longer it needs to infuse.  You can also infuse fruit.  Slowly releasing the flavors and therapeutic benefits into the honey over time creates a delicious and healthy way to support your body during periods of illness.

Every fall I make a pint of what my great Aunt called "Throat Coat."  It is a tasty blend that I enjoy just added to my tea or right off the spoon.  If only all medicinal concoctions tasted this good!

There are no specific proportions for this recipe.  The ingredients can change based on your family's taste.  The most common ingredients for this herbal infused blend include lemon, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  I really dislike cloves so I leave them out.  You can add and subtract based on both flavor and desired effect. 

In a clean pint jar I slice two medium lemons (organic is highly recommended as the peels will be infusing as well).  I add a peeled sliced ginger root (about the size of my thumb.)  If using cloves, add a few whole cloves.  I use about 4 cinnamon sticks, generally I break them in half.  I layer them in the jar putting the lemons on the bottom.  I try to use the cinnamon sticks to wedge the lemons down.  Then I fill it with the local raw honey.  You want to keep the herbs submerged in the honey.  Then I seal it up and put it in the fridge for 4 to six weeks.  

These four herbs are all good for aiding your immune system and fighting germs.  Lemon and ginger are both also good for digestive issues.  I am not an herbalist so I won't go into details about the herbs.  I use this when I feel I am coming down with something, when I have been exposed to heavy amounts of virus, for sore throats and if I get a stomach virus I will add this to my water.   

This is an easy, tasty and effective weapon to create for the upcoming cold and flu season.   

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Blends by Ruth: True Synergies

Blends by Ruth Nelson; The total package. 

This is the brand I am most excited to introduce people too!

I was fortunate to try a few blends from Ruth.  Just wow.  Ruth is becoming a brilliant blender.  Her synergies go far beyond what a normal synergy does.  Why?  Because she researches and uses the best carrier oil for the purpose.  The added benefits of emu oil for a pain blend is noticeable when you use her blends.  The therapeutic qualities of the essential oil are increased by the added therapeutics of the carrier oils.

I tried 4 blends; Allergy Relief, Anytime skin, Valiant and Deep Healing.  I have had them for a while as I try not to review until I have really seen if they worked.  THEY REALLY WORKED!

First let me tell you that this one person show is not as glitzy as some other places you may buy from.  The labels are plain, simple and easy to read.  I also received a typed handout giving me the %dilution, all the ingredients and possible uses.  The handout was a serious winner!  My old tired eyes liked not having to try to find everything on the bottle.  This was a refreshing change for me. 

I started with the Deep Healing and Valiant blend which I transferred into roller bottles ( I find I can apply to almost anywhere on my own back if I put it in a roller bottle.)  The Deep Healing is fantastic!  I suffer from chronic neck and back pain from a very bad accident, pain relief is something I truly appreciate. It is what I used the most on myself so I can speak first hand to its benefits.  This is not an oil you feel the pain relief as it is happening (think icy hot type blends) but in 5 minutes the pain is less and often within 15 minutes it is gone for me.

There were a few times the pain was worse than usual and I layered with Valiant.  They work together beautifully.  Valiant I used more on my husband as it was more suited to his particular issues.  He is sort of a baby (let’s say HUGE wimp) about pain so I know it worked as he stopped complaining.  Valiant works well on pain but also assists with nerve issues.  It greatly decreased the numbness associated with Hubby's Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.  

The allergy relief is a huge bonus.  I know how to blend.  I have inhalers of my blends.  I have purchased blends.  What do I carry in my purse?  Ruth’s Allergy Relief.  Of all my choices, I keep her blend with me.  A drop on my finger, then rubbed on my throat and I am breathing again.  Enough said.

The one blend I thought I would need Hubby to review was the Anything Skin.  I am blessed with good skin.  He has terrible skin.  Who ended up using it first?  Me of course!  While checking the tires of the motor home I suddenly was being bitten by fire ants.  After much dancing around to make sure they were all off me, I went to dig into my oils, packed tightly for safe traveling.  I grabbed Ruth’s Anytime Skin.  It was so nice not to have to think about diluting or which carrier.  It was just there ready to go.  (The ready to go aspect is very nice!)  I put a few drops on and rubbed it in.  RELIEF!  Since I had hours of driving ahead it was definitely something to be thankful for!  I reapplied it a few times because those darn things are not called FIRE ants for nothing.  I missed one by my heal and it looked so different than all of them I treated immediately.  The treated ones were small and most did not swell. The one I missed was HUGE.  After 3 days, the ones I treated immediately were gone.  It has now been a week and the one I missed is still very large, angry and swollen.  

All four blends were fantastic.  All went beyond what I expected.  I am excited to watch Ruth grow and expand.  She does not have a website.  She sells through her Facebook page.  She will answer any questions you have.  I am so happy to introduce many new people to Blends by Ruth Nelson.  

You can find her products on her Facebook page for now. Blends by Ruth Nelson.  

Some of my links are affiliate links, if you choose to use them.  I am not funded by any of the companies I endorse.